All your life is gentle

Zi Shi stretched out his index finger, dipped it in the saucer with plum blossoms floating on it, and drew on the table.Listen, Chuzhou looks like this now: "There are tens of thousands of hectares of good fields and ponds, more than a hundred counties and counties, and less than 70 people. There are tens of thousands of bandits and bandits, and tens of thousands of rebels such as the Baisha Gang are hiding."

Zhuang Lingchen said with a smile: "We opened our mouths three times? After more than two hours, why are there only three sentences left here?"

Chang Sheng said: "There are still some troublesome people here—"

Zi Shi casually picked up a white plum: "You mean the local tyrants? These people may be the minions of the government, or they may be the eyes and ears of the bandits. They only want to stir up the muddy water for profit. It is really the most annoying thing." Pulled off a petal and pointed Jian Nuo rubbed, "It's okay, if you have a milk, you are a mother. As long as you send more powerful people, they will accept the new master as a mother. Don't worry about weaning, you have to use them first. The problem is, who will replace you?" To be this tricky vanguard..."

"I plan to let Yu Mang temporarily supervise the military administration of Chuzhou as an imperial envoy, and take his direct descendants there. Then I ask Fu Ao to send a team familiar with the boundaries of Chuzhou to help. Please act quickly, and take Dan Qu first. To rectify the law, to anger the common people. The officers and soldiers who were originally left behind were transferred to other places to easily cause accidents.

Zi Shi said "hmm".Yu Mang's direct lineage is a mixed army of Rong and Xia selected from the grain superintendent army in the past, which has been tested for a long time.Smiled lightly: "I only bully honest people, and I also asked General Yu to do this thankless job." Think about it: "It's still a bit thin, it's easy to hide from the open spear, but hard to guard against the hidden arrow, let alone guarding against..." Looking up longevity.

This one here knows what he means: "I understand. I specially screened thousands of elites to serve as Yu Mang's personal soldiers, including a group of real masters, who can be used by him. Also consider asking Huang Yunxiu to follow him, and leave Qin Xi behind. Anzi took over."

Zi Shi put the flower in his hand back into the water: "First turn the officers and soldiers into officers and soldiers, and then slowly turn the bandits into ordinary people. Those who are determined to be thieves are very few after all, and finally try to deal with them." .

Yue Zheng said: "The Ministry of Households is discussing that starting from this spring, all new lands in Chuzhou will be reclaimed and loaned out grain seeds. They will not be able to afford taxation and taxation. The new households will return to work and return to the farmland. Each mouth will be divided into [-] acres of land, just waiting for the court meeting. Decided, please issue an imperial decree."

Zhuang Lingchen added: "It is expected that General Yu Mang will arrive in March, and spend a few months to rectify the local bureaucratic army and publicize the imperial edict. Beginning in autumn, the bandits will be suppressed in an all-round way—leaving nearly half a year to persuade the bandits and bandits to return to their fields should be enough. Wider."

Zi Shi suddenly asked: "Where is Yan Zhen's army, the former general of Dingyuan, now?" Some of them voluntarily followed His Highness, while the rest stayed in the north of Shu and did not move for the time being. "Zhuang Lingchen thought sideways, "What does Zi Shi mean..."

"Chuzhou has ten rooms and nine empties, emigration is inevitable. The native children of the Dingyuan army can just be the guides. If you are willing to help the government stabilize the place, you might as well recruit them and rely on their support..."

Qin Xi took over the words: "Dingyuan Army? This idea sounds good. I know that the subordinate officials who were in charge of those places in the past were all rotten under Shan Qu's subordinates and had to be exchanged. Those who have served in the army, regardless of How can you be more courageous than ordinary people, and you are a local, and when you return home, you must have feelings, and you will not mess around. Well, it is best to let them go back first." Thinking about it, he said, "We must also guard against the Baisha gang. People dragged them into the water."

Zhuang Lingchen seemed to think of something, and smiled: "Brother Qin, don't worry, the Dingyuan army is out of luck. When they surrendered, His Highness was in a bad mood. It is estimated that few of them will have the courage to hook up with the rebels after returning home."

Changsheng pretended not to hear.Zi Shi coughed lightly: "These several things can be done at the same time. General Yu rectified from top to bottom, and the soldiers of the Dingyuan Army who were disarmed and returned to the fields were arranged from bottom to top. At the same time, they issued an edict to the village and urged the people to return to the fields. Wait until the next year. When things get better, we can recruit refugees from Chu villages in Baiyue and Shuzhou to return to their hometowns. The time for tax exemption should be as long as possible, at least three to five years. When necessary, new households resume business. In addition to allocating land, The family allowance should also be paid on a per capita basis..."

Several audience members smiled wryly at the same time.

Chang Sheng said: "Zi Shi, I am not a cornucopia."

Zi Shi was about to continue talking when Li Wen and Li Zhang knocked on the door outside: "Your Highness, the dinner is here."

So she smiled: "Eat first. Eat the most."

After the food was set up, just looking at the appearance, Zhuang Lingchen couldn't help admiring: "I knew that Zi Shi had a good cook, so I had a chance to taste it today."

Zi Shi took the posture of master, and asked the three people opposite him to move their chopsticks.Glancing sideways at Chang Sheng: "Brother Zhuang, I'm just like you. I ride on the back of a carp and eat some steamed rice. How can it be so rich? His Royal Highness is not at home to eat. Lu Shibo is trying his best The solution is to please him."

Changsheng glanced sideways, and said lightly: "It's so much nonsense to eat a meal." He took the two vegetarian dishes from Li Wen's hand and placed them in front of him.

Five people eat, but six dishes, three vegetarian and three meat, but the appearance is very exquisite.Even the rice bowls are hard-to-find pearl blue and white porcelain.The crystal hoofs, braised water slides, eel paste in oil, I eat alone on weekdays, and I have never eaten it. This is a special treat for guests.

Zhuang Lingchen and Yue Zheng faced the table full of authentic hometown flavors, although they had never been particular about it, their emotions naturally came up, and they were intoxicated by eating.It was the first time for Qin Xi to taste Jiangnan cuisine, and said while eating: "Zi Shi, the palace entertains all the officials during the Chinese New Year, and I don't taste as good as you when I eat the imperial food.

Zi Shi smiled: "Brother Qin likes it too."

There was no rice in front of him, only a bowl of porridge, which was black in color and smelled like medicine.After finishing the porridge, eat a chopstick of mushrooms, two slices of tofu, and a few mouthfuls of soup, and the meal is over.

Changsheng looked at him: "A little more."

Shaking his head: "I ate a piece of ice cream in the afternoon and drank some green plum cheese." Laughing, "Look, there are more." It turned out that Li Zhang sent another big cup of medicinal juice.

Yue Zheng raised his head, and saw that the person across from him was holding a medicine cup as if drinking tea, and accompanied him at the table in a gentle and elegant manner.

At this time Zhuang Lingchen also raised his head, and asked with concern: "How is Zi Shi?" Thank you Brother Zhuang, he is much better. "

Secretary Lang turned to face the prince: "Your Highness, the old mountain ginseng that was brought up from Zhuozhou years ago"

"They were all sent to the palace.

Zhuang Lingchen patted his thigh: "Hey, if I knew it earlier, I would buckle the box."

Zi Shi interjected: "Brother Zhuang, your highness said just now that he is not a cornucopia, and if I save him a little, I can count myself as doing my best for the people of the world.

The two over there were chewing in their mouths, and almost spit out when they heard the words.

Yue Zheng glanced at the delicious food on the table, then looked up and down the person across from him, followed Zhuang Lingchen and Qin Xi's example, and called him by name: "Zi Shi."

"What advice does the unknown brother-in-law have?"

Yue Zheng was half-joking and half-serious, with a serious look on his face: "People say that being rich is ordinary. I see that your food and clothing costs are more than just a few old wild ginseng?"

After hearing this, Zi Shi propped his chin with one hand, and raised one eyebrow: "Brother Yue has good eyesight." He sighed, "I think it would be more than a hundred times full when I was in Shuzhou. It's a pity that Zhao Ju ransacked the house, and many of them I can't find any clothes that fit my hand. Even so, the brocade and silk that I wear today, and the daily utensils I use at hand, were brought from Shuzhou. As for the celadon bowls on the table in front of me, they are from the cellar of this mansion. The old items of King Huai'an found in the search. Speaking of it, it is a shadow of the previous dynasty, and did not wipe a drop of oil from your highness, haha..."

While laughing, he patted the table: "Let's just say that tonight's meal really counts. How much is it worth? There are no humps, bear paws, orangutan lips, carp whiskers, a hoof, a few fish tails, half a pot of rice field eel, plus mushroom tofu .Brother Yue, don’t think that what you eat is money, and what you eat is kung fu. Things are not worth much, the key is to spend effort and effort. However, whether it’s the cook or the maidservant, they are all my plums Even if they receive the monthly money from the Prince’s Mansion, believe it or not, even if they don’t have any money, they will still serve me like this, and they will definitely not discount it.”

Yue Zheng heard the words "Take care and work hard", and suddenly realized the intention of this meal.Sincerely apologize: "Zi Shi misunderstood. Comfort is not a luxury, how could Yue Zheng not understand."

At this moment, Changsheng put down his chopsticks, and said casually, "I don't raise three thousand harems, I only raise you, and I can always afford it."

Not only Zi Shi, but also Mr. Secretary Lang, Mr. Minister of the Ministry of Finance, and Mr. Zhong of the Ministry of Punishment were all shocked by the sudden and violent confession of His Highness the Crown Prince.

Zi Shi's face was uncontrollably hot, and when he regained his composure, he found that the other three were still in electric shock, so he decided to edit the line just now.

Seeing that everyone was eating about the same, he brought up the business again: "If you want to save money, frugality is of course essential, and the royal court should set an example. However, throttling is limited after all, and it must be silt-in order to increase profits. Scholars, farmers, businessmen, and businessmen are all profitable. The southeast shipping business must not only be quickly restored, but also vigorously expanded; as for the northwest border trade, business travel between countries in the Western Regions is now unimpeded, and it is a great opportunity to make money..."

The audience's attention was all focused, and Zi Shi smiled and said: "The Shuzhou Imperial Palace, and there are a lot of exotic curios in the northeast. They are useless except for feasting your eyes. Why don't you sell them to foreign merchants and exchange more?" Gold and silver, by the way, let foreigners look up and look up to my glorious scenery, Daxia Seiko..."

Back to the previous topic: "As for the resettlement expenses of Chuzhou immigrants, it is impossible to find a way to raise it. In addition, ration seeds should be borrowed without interest, and farm tools and cattle can be rented cheaply for the convenience of the people. It is beneficial to the people. In the palace, there is a lot of money, just choose the most important place to cover it up; the official storehouse, the treasury, the loss is empty, and at most it occasionally defaults on the salaries of the officials, and they can't be hungry..."

The phrase "Choose the important place to cover up" caused a burst of muffled laughter.

Zhuang Lingchen held back with all his strength: "It's not like this..."

Changsheng said: "Don't pay attention to him, he only likes to amuse me and embarrass me."

Zi Shi looked solemn: "The so-called 'farmers hide in Geng, merchants hide in boxes, and emperors hide in the world' (Note: "Farmers hide in Geng, merchants hide in clusters, and emperors hide in the world": see Tang Cui Rong's "Please do not Tax Customs and Shi Shu". The original text is "The emperor hides in the world, the princes hide in the common people, the peasants hide in Qing, and the merchants hide in the box."). The king of a country does not have to worry about having no money in his pocket, let alone be stingy with Spend money on the common people. If the people are abundant, the national treasury will be abundant; if the world is rich, the court will be rich. What does it matter if you are struggling for a few years now? What will be rewarded to you in the future will be a prosperous and peaceful world..."

The three listeners other than Changsheng were all moved.Yue Zheng even revealed an expression of shock that couldn't be concealed.

After Zi Shi finished speaking, he stopped to rest.Li Wen and Li Zhang cleaned up the table and brought refreshments again.No one in the audience intended to interrupt, the speaker sighed, went back to the beginning, and explained in depth.

"In this battle between Rongxia and Chuzhou, Chuzhou was in a special situation. It suffered the heaviest and recovered the latest, and it is bound to be the slowest. It is the next best thing to invest more money in people. What is more important is to be mentally prepared and invest more people. Some patience and time. Three years and five years are not short, and a hundred years is not long."

Pick up three plum blossoms, drop your fingers one by one, and place them in a triangle in front of you: "Assume this is 'Official'. This is 'Min'. This is 'Kou'

Sighing softly: "The remnants of the rebels, such as the Baisha Gang, and the rest of the thieves who refused to follow the law, let's lump them together and count them as 'bandits'."

Tap the middle flower with your fingertips: "'Official' and 'Kou' are always in opposition. The key is where the 'min' stands. At the beginning, Huarong's 'official' failed to obtain legal status in Chuzhou. Later, it was done so badly that the 'min' and the 'Kou' stood together, and the 'official' failed. Everything we do now, the starting point and the end point, is to try to make the 'min' reconnect with the 'officer' Officials unite. Only in this way can the "Counters"," Pause, aggravate the tone," especially the remnants of the rebel forces such as the Baisha Gang, which originally represented benevolence and righteousness to win the hearts of the people, lose their justice, and then completely shaken and collapsed from the root .”

Several listeners listened intently, thinking while listening.

"Chuzhou's suppression of bandits, after the initial centralized elimination, the priority is to put the people at ease, change from active to passive, take strict precautions, and use force with caution."

Seeing that Zhuang Lingchen and others were a little confused, Zi Fang spoke slowly: "Because at this time, among the three of 'officials, civilians, and bandits', 'officials' are the righteous way, and they are also powerful. After a long period of war, people's minds are settled. Since it is the right way, If you are strong, don't be arrogant. Officers and soldiers ride around with swords on horseback. The real bandits are not afraid of them. They frighten the good people. How can they stabilize the people's sentiments and win the hearts of the people?

"At this time, the rest are all diehards among the bandits. 'Adhering to reason' means not disturbing the people, not showing weakness. Once you encounter harassment and disturbance, you must investigate it to the end, punish it severely, and make an example to others. Catch these Those who make trouble, don't go to court in advance, and don't talk about Baisha's rebellion against the party. Too many clichés will only make you more confused and be used by the other party. It is best to try according to the law and make public announcements to harm the people and delay people's livelihood. It doesn't matter if you are rebellious or not, and the basic right and wrong are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people."

A faint smile: "We Huarong, there are no rebels, only villains who do evil."

Seeing this smile, Zhuang Lingchen shivered suddenly in his heart, but he felt that it was more chilling than the invisible killing intent when Shan Qu was sentenced to death before, but he seemed unable to grasp the reason immediately, he just felt for no reason that it was more vivid than before. A lot of awe arises spontaneously.

"When the poor bandits are in a hurry, they may resort to extreme measures. For officials, they must always remember that the ultimate goal of chasing bandits is not just to destroy the bandits themselves. Therefore, in the process, the court and Chuzhou The local government must show considerable courage and determination to come one by one."

In the middle of his speech, Zi Shi asked Chang Sheng: "Who is going to be the Xuanfu of Chuzhou?" Yue Zheng replied: "It's just me."

Zi Shi was taken aback: "It's a huge investment... It's okay, brother Yue, I don't have to tremble with the rest of the nonsense."

"But I can't leave this year. General Yu and General Huang have to worry about it first. I won't be able to take up the post until next year."

"Next year will be next year. I can't be in a hurry."

Yue Zheng looked at him, and then at Chang Sheng, with a hint of promise: "I will discuss it carefully with the two generals, think carefully, and then report to His Highness."

After talking about the situation in Chuzhou, he said a few other things.It was not until the moon was in the sky that the three of them saluted and said goodbye.Zi Shi naturally got up to see him off, and as soon as he stood up, he felt dizzy and couldn't open his eyes. He leaned against Chang Sheng's arms and said hello: "Come to eat again when you are free."

Chang Sheng picked him up and said, "I don't dare to bring them back for dinner anymore. These few are chatterboxes. You're good. They talk more, and I can't get in the way..."

Zi Shi knew that what happened in Chuzhou was the heart disease of the two of them.He's so thoughtful, and being open and honest is the best way.She closed her eyes and smiled: "Don't worry, even if you can't get in the mouth, it won't damage the glorious image of your highness... His voice is getting lower and lower, and he is about to fall asleep right away.

Suddenly he whispered in his ear: "As for the ginseng, Fu Zhong sent someone to send some separately. You drink it every day, but you don't drink it?"

Zi Shi was dazed and thought: "Sure enough, I often walk by the river, how can I not get my shoes wet... Is it possible that I will be barefoot in the future...?"

This night, I missed the usual sleep time, and I kept talking and thinking, and I was overexcited, and I was quite restless in the middle of the night.

Changsheng was worried, and rushed back to the mansion at noon the next day, and saw that he had only just gotten up, and his whole body was listless.Asked if they had eaten, the person involved was stunned, Li Wen and Li Zhang frowned and shook their heads together.

This day is not a day for exercise and healing, Chang Sheng hesitated for a while, but ordered to go down and prepare water and medicine.

It wasn't until the body was conditioned by the familiar posture that Zi Shi realized what he was going to do, and slowly raised his head.

The flash of timidity and fear in those eyes, even imperceptible pleading, made Changsheng's internal organs and six lungs to be pulled into a ball, and he hugged him in a different position: "I was too tired yesterday, and I didn't sleep well at night. I have been running for a week." , and then take a good night's sleep..."

Zi Shi gently pushed him away: "Let's start."

The palms of the two were pressed together, and Chang Sheng felt that his whole body tensed up immediately: "Don't think about it." He gently kissed his forehead to comfort him, and sent a ray of inner breath unswervingly.

"Hmm..." Zi Shi's voice trembled with his body, "You said...why, the more comfortable the life... the better the mood, but the person...more and more... afraid of pain..."

Less than half of them had passed out.

Chang Sheng asked him to lean against him, and seeing the bead-sized beads of sweat flowing down his neck into the neckline, his clothes gradually soaking through, drawing out the smooth and deep lines of his shoulders, feet and back, cutting on his body, he couldn't help but close his eyes.

From then on, Zi Shi restarted his days of confinement.Fortunately, he is used to staying at home, so he doesn't feel bitter.The weather is getting warmer day by day, and the prisoners in the Prince's Mansion have new places to go. The entire backyard of the Zhongzhai was cleared and Zigui cleaned up.Zi Shi does not leave the gate, does not enter the second gate, eats, sleeps and sleeps every day, looks around, arranges flowers and plants, and teases the children.He waited for the spring to pass before he was approved, and continued to work on his notes on "Zheng Ya".

The little princess has already been allowed to go home, but from time to time she clamors to see her brother, and refuses to leave when she comes. Therefore, Crown Princess Qianjinglie has become a frequent visitor to the mansion.

The only daughter of the late General Chiguo was named Panzhu.The status of women in the Xirong tribe has always been relatively high. Except for a very small number of nobles, they are all monogamous.Women mount horses to graze cattle and sheep, and dismount to do housework, which is much more open than Xia people's society.Panzhu was born noble, she was no different from a boy since she was a child, although she never went to battle with her father, she was good at riding and archery.

Within two months of her marriage, her husband went to war.The daughter was only one year old, and it was her husband's corpse that greeted her.What she knew, of course, was the public version of "Prince Nakaruya was killed in battle".There is no relationship with Fu Ding, but her daughter is undoubtedly the greatest comfort.

Back then, Qin Xi and Huang Yunxiu got clues from Ningqing and came to steal the child.Unexpectedly, the crown princess's level of aggression was far beyond expectations, and she secretly turned into an open robber, so she had to kidnap the little princess together.Worried that the other party would not know how to measure, causing troubles all over the city, the two quietly turned around to do follow-up comfort work.Come and go again and again, if you don't fight, you don't know each other, and you become old acquaintances.

Crown Princess Qianjing Lie officially visits the house and meets the former Princess Yining of Jinxia.The two heroines hit it off at first sight, cherished each other, and became close friends.Zigui also often visits the old couple Han Hou and his aunt Han Wan, and gets some news about Jinxia's old family from them.So Zi Shi could hear a few anecdotes and anecdotes in Shun capital from his sister every now and then, entertaining gossip.This place was the capital of two dynasties, and now it is converged in all directions, China and foreign countries gather together, and new things emerge in endlessly, which makes Zi Shi feel very interesting.

The people under Changsheng still came to eat from time to time, usually accompanied by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince himself, but there were always times when they had something to discuss.Lunch delayed the afternoon sleep, and dinner delayed the evening sleep. Zi Shi tilted his head with his hands behind his back, and said to Chang Sheng: "They really want to come, so let's have afternoon tea after the office is over."

One day in early April, at nightfall, secretary Lang Zhuang Lingchen asked to see the prince.

Chang Sheng thought that there was some urgent memorial to read, but when he entered the study, he found that Secretary Lang was holding a large black and black rectangular box with both hands. He didn't know what it contained, obviously it was not a memorial.

Seeing him, Zhuang Lingchen took a step forward, with a strange expression on his face, actually showing a sense of coyness and uneasiness: "Your Highness, I... this..."

Chang Sheng glanced at him and raised his eyebrows: "Master Zhuang wants to propose marriage, it seems that he has found the wrong person."

"No, I..." After reacting, he became even more coy, "Your Highness! That, that, of course I know, it's still early..."

Changsheng couldn't help being curious when it was rare to see the first counselor lose his face.While admiring, he put his hands behind his back: "Dare to ask Mr. Zhuang why you want to see him?"

He had a completely sarcastic tone, but Zhuang Lingchen didn't expect that he would take it seriously: "I...my minister, this..." and was about to salute while holding the box.

Except for formal occasions in the court, Changsheng has always been used to you, me, and me with them.Impatient by him, he lifted the box over and said, "I don't have time to accompany you to grind mushrooms. If you have something to say, hurry up and leave."

Zhuang Lingchen watched him reach out to untie the red silk rope on the box, and regardless of the etiquette image, he rushed forward and held it down.

Chang Sheng frowned: "What do you mean?"

"Your Highness!" Zhuang Lingchen hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and showed a posture ready to die, "Your Highness, before His Highness opens it, can you...promise me one thing first."

"Oh? You talk about it."

Lord Zhuang stepped back and stopped, clearing his throat: "This kind of thing was snatched from the bedroom of Zhao Ju's palace. The box is exquisitely made and big. I thought it was some special treasure. I didn't have time to inspect it at the time. I brought it back and told others The items were piled up together in the warehouse in Fuchu, and they have not taken care of counting them all the time."

Hearing what he said, Chang Sheng couldn't help but look down.Sure enough, the place where the corners are not blackened can swallow the original appearance, depicting gold, painting and color inlaying hundreds of treasures, carving dragons and carving wind-wrapped flower branches.The value of such a box alone is unknown.

"Last time, Your Highness asked me to look for a living note. By the way, I remembered to pack this pile of things. This, I...cough, I dared to open it and have a look."

Chang Sheng asked, "What's inside?"

Zhuang Lingchen avoided answering: "I once thought about destroying it, but I didn't dare, and... I couldn't bear it. After much deliberation, I would like to ask His Highness to decide for himself. Since this item is in His Highness's hands, there is only one request: No matter what His Highness wants Please treat it as if I, Zhuang Lingchen, have never seen it before."

Changsheng looked at him suspiciously.No matter how the eyes look, there is an ulterior motive, and no matter how the request sounds, it seems strange.Heart said I still can't hold you?He replied lightly, "No problem."

Zhuang Lingchen made a bow with both hands: "I obey the order, and I will leave." His footsteps fell quickly, and he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The red silk rope that binds the box is tied with a wishful double-flying bow, just for the convenience of carrying.After disbanding, there was another lock on the box, but the lock had already been opened, and the key was inserted in it.

Changsheng felt a little inexplicable panic and anticipation for no reason.Steady his hands, lifted the lid of the box, and suddenly heaved a sigh of relief, it turned out that it was just a book.I haven't seen clearly what words are written on the cover page, but the familiar handwriting catches my eyes, and I can't help being a little excited.

Hmm, "Four Seasons Splendid Flowers and Flowers Calendar"?

Take it out carefully, it is much larger than ordinary books, beautifully bound, thick paper, maybe it is a landscape book?Or floral spectrum? (It can be seen that Changsheng is a good boy of CJ, and has never read pornographic books)

Excitedly, I turned to the first page.The picture catches the eye, the heart beats twice "thump", then "pop" misses twice.Rubbing my eyes, I made sure I read correctly, but I still couldn't believe it, so I quickly turned to the next page.Unexpectedly, after reading the next page, I couldn't believe it even more, and then turned to the next page.

next page, next page...

I turned and turned like this until I turned the last page and started to be in a daze.

After standing still for a while, I turned forward from the last page.This time I was mentally prepared, no longer surprised, and read very slowly and carefully.After reading three pages, he straightened up noisyly, put the album back into the box, put it under his arm, flicked his sleeves, left the study room, and headed for the bedroom.