I'm watching the gate in the jail

Jingxi Blue Indigo Factory, also known as Indigo Garden Factory, is located near a depression at the foot of Bixia Yuanjun Temple in Xishan.

That day Qiu Zijin was alone, hired a small car, and went to the west of Beijing.

"Young master, are you going to offer incense at the Empress Temple?"

Because Qiu Zijin hired a car on foot to the Xidan Archway, which was some distance away from Qiu Mansion, the driver didn't know his identity.

"Well."

Qiu Zijin stepped into the carriage, sat on the shaft outside, and smiled towards the handlebars, "I heard that the scenery there is beautiful and the incense is very strong. I'm going to pray for my family's safety."

"Then why don't you bring joss paper money with you when you go to burn incense?"

The handlebar looked to see that Qiu Zijin had nothing but a Xiaoxiang paper fan in his hand, he couldn't help being amused: this young master is really not ordinary.Why don't you bring a smarter boy to serve you?

"It's okay."

Qiu Zijin opened the fan and shook it smartly, "When we get to the place, please help me to set it up. It's only a small amount of money."

Hearing the handlebar style, he immediately smiled.

The young master in front of him has an extraordinary bearing, and he is wearing good things.Hearing the accent, he has a soft taste of southerners, and he is probably the son of a wealthy businessman who has just arrived from other places.

If he was served well, wouldn't the silver be rewarded at his fingertips?

"Master, please sit down, let's set off now!"

With one hand on the handlebars, he jumped onto the pole frame, and lightly shook the long riding whip with a red tassel on it. The pony shook its head, and started walking with a "da da" at a loose pace.

The car passed the Xidan Archway, exited the Xizhimen Gate, and headed all the way to Yuquan Mountain.

This handlebar style really treated Qiu Zijin as a foreigner who had just arrived in the capital, and introduced the scenic spots along the way along the way.

What Miaoying Baita Temple's pagoda was almost cracked, and the old man who cut the noodles and made up the vat used the guy who saw the bowl to curium it. This is called "Curium White Pagoda".

There is also the Chaotian Palace in the west of Beijing, which was originally the Tianshi Mansion in the Yuan Dynasty.It is said that the Chaotian Palace is the dividing line between the heaven and the human world. Entering the Chaotian Palace is like stepping into the heaven with one foot.

Qiu Zijin shook his fan, listened with great interest, and couldn't stop nodding.

Halfway through the car, Qiu Zijin felt thirsty, so he took out a piece of silver and asked the car to go down to buy some cold fruits, so that he could take it with him along the way.

After a while, the handlebars bought fresh big water pears and Lingo fruit, and was about to return the remaining silver and copper coins to him, when Young Master Qiu waved his little hand and said that he was not willing to bring change, so I will give it to you.

This time, the joy of the handlebars is invisible, and the bragging on the next road is even more powerful.I can't wait to talk about 300 years before and 300 years later, so as to make this generous local rich young master happier and give more rewards.

When I arrived at the Niangniang Temple, I saw a lot of tourists in front of the temple, scholars, women, children and elders, all in fresh clothes, holding various incense candles and talisman papers, praying around the gate of the Niangniang Temple.

Qiu Zijin noticed that many of them carried a cloth bag in their hands, and behind many of them, there were baskets or carts carrying cloth belts on their backs, and they didn't know what was inside.

"It's filled with soil."

Looking at Qiu Zijin's curious eyes on the handlebars, he explained, "This is called 'into the soil', and it is accumulating blessings for myself and my family."

Qiu Zijin was taken aback for a moment, and then showed a dumbfounding expression.

I don't know when it started, but the Bixia Yuanjun Temple here is also known as the "Houtu Niangniang Temple".

"Houtu" is the opposite of "Emperor Heaven", and it is the mother god who is in charge of the fertility of yin and yang.

But this place is obviously Bixia Yuanjun Temple of Dongyue Taishan.

Although this "empress" is different from that "empress", but their responsibilities are similar, they are all "empresses" anyway.

So the common people use "soil" as a sacrifice, and come here to worship Bixia Yuanjun's empress... It's even more tongue-twister than tongue-twister.

"Master, do you want me to buy you some soil, and you also bring a handful to burn incense?"

asked the handlebar kindly.

"No need, no need."

Qiu Zijin hastily refused.

I thought: Damn, isn’t this blind worship...

After parking the car, Qiu Zijin was helped down by the handlebar, and the two walked in together.

The shops near the temple gate are row upon row, one next to the other, one next to the other. In addition to incense, candles and ingots, there are also reed straw mats, pearl emerald noodles, flowers and fruits, and antique calligraphy and paintings.

In a large square in front of the mountain gate, there are still people performing acrobatics, jumping through fire hoops, swinging water tanks, pulling banners, sometimes dressed in ancient color tricks and training dogs and birds.

"Master, you are very lucky. You have caught up with the 'mother-in-law'."

Pointing at the crowd with a handlebar, he said with a smile, "From late July to early August, Xiding Niangniang Temple, as well as several Niangniang temples inside and outside Beijing, will hold the God Contest. Shehuo is more lively than New Year's Eve."

After finishing the handlebar pose, he turned around and went to buy incense and ingot candles for Qiu Zijin.

Qiu Zijin "deliberately" forgot that he still had a lot of fruit money left, so he gave him another piece of silver.

The handlebars were so happy that they almost went crazy, the reward that this rich young master gave today was enough for his whole family to eat for several months.

After entering the temple, Qiu Zijin was led by the handlebars all the way to burn incense, worship, and offer incense money.When I saw the merit box, I threw money into it, and became a veritable "wealth-spreading boy".

Finally, the two walked to a gazebo wrapped in white vines on the back mountain and sat down.

Qiu Zijin sat down against the pillar of the gazebo, fanning himself constantly.

The handlebar style was also so tired that he squatted down and fanned himself with the hem of his clothes.

"Bashi, what's that place?"

After breathing for a while, Qiu Zijin pointed to a lush green field in the northeast of the mountain and asked.

"It doesn't seem to be crops."

After the handlebars had almost rested, he stood up and looked in the direction Qiu Zijin was pointing at.

"Ah, the young master really has a good eye."

Don't forget to flatter when you answer.

"That's a bluegrass field."

"Bluegrass?"

Qiu Zijin pretended not to understand.

"Young Master, don't you know. Bluegrass is indigo, also known as indigo, woad, a dye, and a kind of herbal medicine."

The handlebar said, pointing to the blue coarse cloth shirt on his body, "The color of my clothes is dyed with this blue grass."

"Oh~~"

Qiu Zijin made a big fuss and said, "In Xunzi's "Encouraging Learning", it is said, 'The blue comes from the blue and is better than the blue'. That's what it said."

"Looking for a son? Whose son is gone?"

The handlebar style was taken aback by what he said, "Hey, anyway, the thousands of acres of land below are all planted with bluegrass."

"Let's go down and see."

Qiu Zijin tapped his left hand lightly with a fan, "As the saying goes, 'the things in the world are not as well known as those who see them'. I have only read about this bluegrass in ancient books, and I have no idea what it actually looks like .Since we met today, why not go down the mountain to take a look, it is not a waste of time.”

"This one……"

The handlebar looked embarrassed, "To tell you the truth, the bluegrass field below is not a place where you can enter and exit at will, it is a royal forbidden area. In addition to the bluegrass field below, there is also an indigo factory, which is an inner dyeing and weaving factory in the imperial city." The bureau is in the government office in the suburbs of Beijing. There are eunuchs inside and soldiers guarding the outside, so it’s not a place where civilians can come and go at will.”

"Is that so... hey..."

Qiu Zijin sighed with feigned regret, "It's hard to get out of the city. I thought I could find a place to play in the afternoon after I had a vegetarian meal. I didn't expect the west of the city to be nothing more than this..."

Hearing that the "God of Wealth" meant that he wanted to go back home, he turned his handlebar eyes and said hastily, "Master, it's not like I can't get in at all. I have a relative. I live in the west of the city, and I am employed in the indigo factory on weekdays, helping to mow the grass, soak the grass and do some chores. How about I help you ask and find a way to let you go in and have a look.”

This kind of generous God of Wealth is something you can meet but never ask for. Take good care of him today. Tomorrow, maybe the young master wants to play in the south of the city or the north of the city. At that time, he should hire his car or let him lead the way. I have enough food and clothing for a year.

"That's right, you can find a way for me."

Qiu Zijin smiled and slapped his fan, "It's just an indigo factory, and it doesn't involve any royal secrets, so why can't we go there?"

The Guozijian's "self-inspection" operation was carried out vigorously, and the enthusiasm of all teachers and students to "cook rice" was also high.

After yesterday's lunch and dinner, everyone in the Imperial College knew about the feat of Lao Li, the former chief chef of the Imperial College, who "poached a master chef from Beizhen Fusi at a high price to work for the welfare of the Imperial College".Lao Li and Bao Siwu thus became the two "male gods" in the eyes of the teachers and students of the Imperial College.

Early this morning, the smell of wheat steamed buns, fried fruits and soy milk wafted from the dining hall, which made this group of young people who still had the habit of staying in bed get up one after another before dawn. Go straight to the dining hall.I was afraid that I would be late, and the breakfast would be snatched up by my classmates.

In addition, even the time for morning reading has been brought forward a lot, it is simply "dancing with the chicken".

"Okay, okay."

Holding the steaming soy milk in his hand, Ji Siye took a bite of the crispy burnt circle.

"Now we don't have to envy those rough people in Beizhen Fusi anymore. As expected, 'Food is the most important thing for the people'. If you eat a good breakfast, you will be motivated this day."

The civil servants of Ming Dynasty are also on duty on horseback. Today, when Ji Siye came out of the house with a star on his head, he was on his way to the Imperial College.

It was the first time that he showed a disdainful smile when he saw those generals queuing up at the door early in the morning in order to eat at the Jinyiwei yamen.

I don't need to line up.

This official has everything in his own yamen!

"Where's Bao Siwu? Quickly ask me, what's for lunch today."

"Bao Siwu and the new servant who arrived yesterday, after preparing the ingredients for lunch, they took Alan out to play. They said that they would take the child around the capital, and they couldn't keep the child confined in the room."

Master Tang, who bowed his head and drank bean curd, pointed to the entrance of the dining hall, "Lao Li has hung the menu for today's lunch at the door early in the morning. He said that this is the rule at the Jinyiwei Yamen. Not only that, but today's dinner And the menu for tomorrow's breakfast has also been written."

"Yes, take Alan out for a walk. Maybe his mother is also looking for him outside. If they meet outside, ask Bao Siwu and the others to bring the child's mother back to the Imperial College. The child is too young to see him If you have lived with your own father, a mother should know your husband-in-law, right?"

Ji Siye deeply agrees.

"Father, Uncle Yang, where are we going?"

Wan Lan held Wanda in one hand and Yang Xiuxian in the other, and the family of three walked out of the Imperial College.They didn't go to the lively place in the south, but went farther and farther, and walked north along the backyard of the Imperial College.

"While your father was cooking yesterday, I walked around the neighborhood and found some 'interesting' things."

Yang Xiuxian said.

Unlike the previous alleys that were full of people, these alleys are extremely quiet and there are few pedestrians.

The tall cypress trees hold their branches high and cast a thick green shade, like successive green dark clouds.Among them, the chirping of cicadas is like the sound of rain pouring from dark clouds.

When the three of them walked to the end, they couldn't hear anything except the chirping of cicadas. Even the sound of their footsteps seemed to be swallowed up in this endless ancient alley.

Because the "quietness" is too much, the "movement" is particularly obvious.

Wanda felt that his every move was magnified at this moment, every movement of his hand and foot, even the sound of his slight breathing was diffused, and he could even hear turning around in this alley.

If it weren't for him still holding Wan Lan's hand, he would almost suspect that he was walking this seemingly endless green road alone.

Wanda is like this, let alone Wan Lan, if it is not for the two adults holding both hands, the little guy will almost lose himself.

Suddenly, Yang Xiuxian stopped and said softly, "This is right here..."

He lowered his head and looked at the Wan family father and son as if they were sleepwalking.

He stretched out his hands and put them on the shoulders of the two of them lightly. The two of them were shocked, and they all showed expressions like they had just woken up from a dream.

Wan Lan's face was full of confusion, and Wanda blinked twice, then lowered her head in panic, covering Wan Lan's open mouth.

what happened to me?

He looked up at Yang Xiuxian and asked with his lips.

Yang Xiuxian reached out and compared the walls on both sides of the alley.

Wanda walked all the way just now, without looking either side.

Now that I took a closer look, I found that the gray stone walls on both sides of this narrow path were different from other stone walls.

A trace of "burrs" was deliberately pulled out with lime and mud. The surface of the wall is rough, and if you accidentally touch it, it will stick to your hand, unlike the smoothness of ordinary walls.

Ah... what is the principle of this, it seems that I learned it in my "last life"...

Wanda tapped her head.

"Rough surfaces can absorb sound...We walked all the way just now, and all the walls on both sides have been tampered with."

Yang Xiuxian said in a low voice.

"Adding the monotonous chirping of cicadas makes it easier to confuse people."

Hey, I did hear it when I was in junior high school physics class.

Wanda suddenly realized.

Then look back alertly.

This is not an important place for an organization, so keep quiet.

It's just an ordinary street. Looking at the walls on both sides, they are not red and yellow, indicating that this is just an ordinary residence.

Why do you need such complicated mute measures?

"clang!"

Suddenly, a loud sound came from the yard where they stopped.In this quiet environment, it seemed extraordinarily agitated.

Wanda frowned, looking in the direction where the voice came from.

It was after Yang Xiuxian's reminder just now that he and A Lan came out of that unconsciously bewitched state ahead of schedule.

If you have maintained the dizzy mind just now, it can even be said to be in a "semi-hypnotic" state.If one walked into the courtyard at this moment and heard this noise, wouldn't it be like thunder?

At least he also thought it was Huang Zhong Dalu, he must be taken to heart and soul!

"Let's go up the tree."

As Yang Xiuxian said, holding Wanda in one hand and Wan Lan in the other, he jumped onto the tall tree beside him and squatted on a thick branch.

"father!"

Wan Lan hurriedly covered her small mouth, and then pulled Lawanda's sleeve, "Father... there are a lot of people down here."

Wanda stared at everything in the room below.

In the courtyard below, more than a dozen men and women sat on the futons in the order of men, left, and women.

In front of them was a man dressed as a Taoist priest, sitting cross-legged.Standing behind them were two boys about seven or eight years old, one holding a bottle of clean water and the other holding a sword.

The man wears a lotus flower crown on his head, a yellow skirt, purple and brown, and a five-color cloud cape on his head. He eats the whisk with one hand and makes a mudra with the other.On the table in front of me are displayed incense burners, pans, mirrors, and seals, and I am chanting words with righteous thoughts in my mouth.It seems that the sound just now was knocked by him.

"This guy is more imposing than that fellow Liu Tie Chi."

Wanda said in a low voice.

Don't say that the cassock worn by this Taoist priest is made of silk and satin. Wanda just looked at the big pearl adorned on the lotus crown on his head, and knew that it was definitely the Great Northern Pearl from Jianzhou Jurchen. Worth not less than a thousand dollars.

In such a comparison, everyone is a Taoist priest, and Liu Tiechi is worse than a beggar.

"Do you still remember how Liu Tiechi described him as a 'scum from the master'?"

Yang Xiuxian asked.

The horns of the head are tall, the cheekbones are soaring, the jaw is fleshless, and the ear belt is bone-reversing...

Wanda recalled what Liu Tiechi said that day, and looked down at the Fugui Taoist priest who was still reciting some scriptures with "uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

"This...is him? Li Zilong?"

The ugly one is so shocking, and the odd-shaped one is regarded as the appearance of the emperor?

I bother!

My brother-in-law "the real emperor" is [-] times more handsome than him!

No, it is 100 million times!

At this moment, Li Zilong opened his triangular eyes, then picked up a small hammer, and hit Pan again. Those men and women who had squinted their eyes while listening to him chanting scriptures opened their eyes one after another.

Then, a strange phenomenon happened, a white smoke rose from behind the ugly Taoist priest.

At first, it was just wisps, and then it gradually rose, and finally the Taoist priest in colorful robes seemed to be sitting on a cloud, looking at the excited men and women who kept kowtowing below with a "majestic face".

"Hey, five cents special effects!"

Wanda thought, I am familiar with this, I am very familiar with this!

Isn't it the dry ice special effects necessary for ghost movies and fairy tale movies?

But is there any dry ice at this time?

Even if it's not dry ice, it should be a similar chemical reaction, creating this absolutely shocking effect in the eyes of the ancients.

"This broken Taoist has much more technical content than the White Lotus Sect, and the performance is much more sincere."

Wanda covered her mouth and smiled.

He thought again of the sudden coldness he felt in Fengtian Temple that day.

If all this is not a coincidence, but this "Li Zilong" did it.

Then, according to Liu Tiechi, his younger brother was once bestowed with a divine book by a real person, and only then did he "achieve the Tao and become a fairy"—that book could not be a physical chemistry book, right?

"Look, isn't that Chen Zhanggu?"

Yang Xiuxian patted Wanda on the shoulder.

Sure enough, Chen Zhanggu, the Guozijian numerology teacher who gave them the "earth law to rule ice" yesterday, was standing behind the smoke at this moment, looking reverently at Li Zilong surrounded by white smoke.

"Interesting, more and more interesting. This Li Zilong is amazing, even the teachers of the Imperial College can use it for himself."

Wanda sneered.

Seeing that the performance was almost over, Li Zilong flicked his fly whisk and stood up, walking towards the crowd.

The group of men and women immediately showed ecstasy expressions, shouting "Heavenly Master" and "Guru" over and over again, and the men took out their money bags and made offerings with both hands.The woman simply took off the hairpin and earrings, and prostrated herself on the ground with her hands in her hands, begging Li Zilong to accept their offerings.

Li Zilong walked through the crowd without looking sideways and walked into the house. The two boys behind him were more direct than him. He took out two cloth bags from nowhere, and accepted the things sent by everyone with a smile. into the bag.

Until Li Zilong disappeared, Chen Zhanggu and the two boys also disappeared in a certain room, and these men and women stayed where they were, crying and laughing, mad like a group of people dancing wildly.

"A 'Pharmaceutical Master' Xuan Lian was killed before, and today another 'Special Effects Master' Li Zilong came."

Wanda sneered.

"This capital is really a place where all kinds of 'demons and ghosts' gather."

Wan Lan, who was standing beside him, tilted her little head, looked at the group of crazy adults below, and bit her lip in horror.

After visiting the Jingxi Indigo Factory, he also spent a lot of money to buy two pieces of blue printed cloth that the eunuchs boasted that there is nothing in the sky and nothing under the earth, which is exclusive to the royal family. The carriage returned to the downstairs of Xidan Pai.

The enthusiastic handlebar said that Qiu Zijin could be sent home, and he could accompany him wherever he wanted to play tomorrow.

However, Qiu Zijin rejected his offer and sent him away after paying the fare.

The handlebar style left with a somewhat disappointed back, and even the pace of the pony pulling the carriage was a bit frustrated.

Hey, the God of Wealth doesn't go out to play every day...

Qiu Zijin walked all the way from Xidan Archway to Dongdan Archway, and then walked in the direction of Xinghaihui.

It was already the time when the lanterns were first lit, and it was also the busiest time of the day at Xinghaihui.The restaurant on the left has just opened, and the entertainment hall on the right has already started to beat the gong.

Amidst the commotion, Xiaoer led Qiu Zijin out to the box on the third floor.Pushing open the door, Wang Zhi, dressed as a commoner, was sitting inside drinking tea.

Several dishes of cold dishes were already placed on the table, but apart from Wang Zhi, no one else was seen.

"Susu and Master Yang are serving meals to the students at the Imperial College. But it's very close to the Imperial College, so they came over after dinner."

Wang Zhi picked up two clean cups from the table and poured tea.

two cups?

Qiu Zijin looked at the teacup that had already been filled with water in front of Wang Zhi, and raised his eyebrows strangely.

"Ajin."

As soon as Qiu Zijin turned his head, he saw the figure standing behind him.

He froze for a moment, then frowned.

"How will you be here?"

It was none other than Wang Zhi's older brother, Mei Qianzhang.

For so many years, although he knew that Mei Qianzhang was by their side, he even showed up to save himself before.But except for that time of life and death, he never showed his face.

Just like Master Wan said, Mei Qianzhang is no longer a "person" in reality, but a "shadow", the exclusive shadow guard of His Majesty the Emperor.

But it was this shadow that would come to his window every day and deliver a pack of candied fruit, or seasonal fruit and a note.

For more than ten years, every morning, the first thing he did when he woke up was to open the window to see what was delivered today.

It has almost become a fixed ritual.

Not to mention that candied plums are Qiu Zijin's favorite food.

Just a few words written on those notes are also very interesting.

On the first day of the first day of the lunar new year, Ah Lan begged Master Wan for a huge amount of red envelopes but failed.

On the second day of junior high school, Mr. Wan made shrimp wontons. Alan ate three bowls at noon, but didn't eat dinner, so he was almost beaten.

……

On the eighth day of the eighth day, Ah Lan returned home after visiting the temple fair, learned from a lama to fight ghosts, and smashed three peppers planted by Master Wan, and was finally beaten.

On the tenth day of the Lunar New Year, Ah Lan entered the palace to pay New Year's greetings, and complained to her empress about being beaten the day before yesterday.Immediately, the empress blamed Mr. Wan for not beating children during the first month, and Mr. Wan took the order.After returning home, Ah Lan was fined to kneel on the washboard in the room.

……

On the first day of February, the first lunar month, Ah Lan was beaten.

Eating fruit every day and watching these little things has become Qiu Zijin's happiest thing in the morning.

The trivial things in Wanfu, in the palace, and even on the streets, in Mei Qianzhang's simple and almost straightforward language, somehow became vivid.

Qiu Zijin even felt that these few words were more exciting than the famous sentences written by the world's literary giants.

Until one day, there were these words written on the opened note: Ah Jin, I love you.What do you think?

Qiu Zijin was so frightened that he directly stuffed the piece of paper back under the paper bag containing the candied fruit, and put it back out of the window.

When he came back from the punishment department, he walked to the window and looked at the package of candied fruit and the note pressed underneath.Like a ghost, he took them back into the room.

After a while, the note was put back out of the window, and the top was pressed with a stone instead.

On the note in the morning, Qiu Zijin wrote two words: Dreaming.

That night, until the moon rose to the sky, Qiu Zijin didn't fall asleep.

He got up and looked at the window sill for a while, and then simply put on his clothes and lay down on the desk under the window, looking outside in a daze.

He waited until Dongfang was white, he couldn't hold on any longer, and then he lay down on the desk in a daze and fell asleep.

The next day, when he was woken up by the book boy who came in to help him wash, Qiu Zijin's first reaction was to open the window to see what was written outside today.

There were only candied fruit that day, no notes.

Regardless of the book boy's dissuasion, Qiu Zijin walked outside the house in his unlined clothes, searched around the yard, but did not see any note.

The book boy asked him, master, what are you looking for?

Yeah, what am I looking for?

Qiu Zijin looked at him blankly.

That day, Qiu Zijin was late for duty.

This was the first time he was late except for the moment when he was seriously injured since he entered the Ministry of Justice 13 years ago.

His colleagues, subordinates, and even Shangfeng were so scared that he had some serious problem.He comforted him by saying that he should go home and rest if his health is really bad. The affairs in the ministry have priorities, and it is not a big deal if he is not up for a day.

Qiu Zijin returned home in a daze, looking at the empty window sill, he seemed to understand what he was "looking for".

Fortunately, the note and the candied fruit that had disappeared returned the next day.

Mei Qianzhang wrote those funny words to him as usual, as if nothing happened.

But half a month later, the "What do you think" note appeared again.

Qiu Zijin returned it intact.

This tug-of-war started, and the two "played" like this for two or three years.

But on the note a few days ago, Qiu Zijin finally answered the sentence "What do you think?"

——I want to see you.

No reply was received.

That morning, Qiu Zijin felt that he was extremely ridiculous.

You see, although "playing hard to get" is a good strategy, it is not suitable for everyone.

At least, it was worn out by him.

"I'm here to see you."

Mei Qianzhang fixedly looked at Qiu Zijin, whose eyes were full of suspicion.

Then removed the mask from his face.

The author has something to say: 1. The things in the world are not as detailed as those who have heard them——Song Luyou

2. Blue indigo is Banlangen.It can be used as medicine and as a pigment for dyeing