It rains continuously. Huixi was already very damp in the spring. Now it has experienced three or five rains in succession. The corners and boundaries of the houses are tightly damp. Many elderly people in the family who are quite old and have ailing legs and feet have been suffering in recent days. Since then, he has become even more annoyed. He beats and itches his joints, waist and legs, and wants to complain to others, saying that when he was young, he never knew how to take good care of himself. But now, the old debts he owes have come to his door on their own, which only adds to the worries. concern. But just as he was about to move out, he realized that there seemed to be few close friends in this huge capital, so he had to light a charcoal fire, wrap a thick blanket around his knees and waist, and look at the falling rain falling outside the window lattice and eaves. , I couldn't help but doze off, and the deep sleep was about to pass.
The capital has been immersed in the spring rain for many days. The rain is not heavy, but it is still not warm. It has been falling for nearly a whole day. Many people in the capital who have no time to rest have no choice but to go out with umbrellas and raincoats and gaze into the distance. On the long street, it is difficult to see the faces of people clearly. Only the scattered umbrella edges and coir raincoats, like armor, move slowly in the center of the bluestone street. The running water and knocked down early flowers slowly go away together with the human figures, adding to the loneliness.
The only one wearing red clothes and holding an umbrella stepped into Tongzi Street in Beijing alone.
The eight main streets in Yizhang's capital city are like redbirds shaking their tails. They are divided into eight directions from the middle of the imperial city. They are high up and look far away. Entering these eight main streets, the streets are bustling and noisy all year round. No matter it rains heavily in summer or snows in mid-winter, merchants, traders, and performers and helpers are all standing in the streets. The wind and snow are unstoppable, making these eight main streets year-round. It was very lively. Whenever people from outside the city came to the capital, most of them would say a few words of praise, saying that the Imperial City of Yizhang was indeed magnificent.
Among the eight main streets, Tongzi Street is the most deserted. It turns out that this long street leads to the southwest boundary. Leaving from the Imperial City, after passing Tongzi Street, you can go directly to the southwest gate of Huixi, the Imperial City. Most of those who go to Xijun and come from Daxijun also go to the center of the imperial city through this street. But for many years, the area around Xijun has not been considered wealthy. Few people have settled in the area around Xijun. They have nothing to do and go to the imperial city for a few days. Firstly, they are short of money, and secondly, they are officials from Xijun. Most of them have never been ordered to the capital. , so this southwest direction has always been deserted.
At this point, all businesses in Tongzi Street have declined, and the situation is very different from the other seven main streets. Officials in Beijing have issued several orders, hoping to make Tongzi Street more prosperous and less deserted than before, but it is still difficult to be effective. .
On weekdays, it is deserted and the market is deserted. There are only a few hotels, restaurants and ordinary stores that can barely survive by relying on their regular customers. What's more, during the rainy season, there are very few people around.
The woman in red holding an old umbrella led the horse. When they walked to Tongzi Street, they tied the horse everywhere and walked forward with the umbrella. Apart from the sound of rain and the rustling of mud and sand on the soles of boots, there was no other sound.
At the archway outside Tongzi Street, there are two jade sculptures of boys standing on both sides. They are extremely skilled. It is clearly a rainy season, but the expressions of the two boys are still kind, and there is no hint of spookiness. The heaven is full, and they are wearing Taoist robes and standing with hands hanging down. On the contrary, they really looked like two Taoist boys carved in pink and jade, looking at the people coming and going with a smile.
It turned out that it was the time when the canal was being dug in the capital, and all the officials from top to bottom said that this was a waste of money and people, and some people in the government calculated that there were probably earth veins around Tongzi Street. If the ground was dug rashly, evil spirits would arise. Emperor Quan thought about it for several days, but it was too late. Before he could make a decision, two wandering boys still used their methods to move the so-called earth veins a full two thousand steps, and then they were able to dig the canal and connect it to the lands southwest of Yizhang.
This made Long Yan very happy, but when he wanted to summon the two Taoist boys again, they had already left in a hurry, leaving only a letter. He had no choice but to name the long street Tongzi Street, which was regarded as a thank you to the Xian family, until Today, the name has never been changed.
The woman chose a porridge shop and slowly sat down. It was probably outside the porridge shop. There was a bamboo shed to protect her from the rain. The old man in the shop heard the commotion and came out. He tremblingly stepped forward to bow and salute, but he did not ask what happened to the woman. After asking for something to eat, he went back to the house and lit some dry wood to make a fire.
Rain hits the bamboo shed.
Countless raindrops collected from the bamboo tips at the end of the edge of the shed and fell to the ground in rows. However, the bluestone brick road could no longer tolerate so much rainwater. It slightly accumulated into many puddles. The spring rain tinkled and fell into the puddles, causing a lot of splashes. Clear lotus petals.
"Staff, please bring in more hot dishes today."
The woman's eyebrows were very good, but when she said this, she was looking away from the long street.
The rain was coming heavily, and a man walked from a distance. He was wearing a raincoat with a brisk gait, but his white hair could not be concealed. He soon walked to the old but polished table and put on the raincoat. After removing it and shaking off the rainwater, the face is square and kind, especially the eyebrows and eyes, which are very similar to those of women.
"The youngest son in General Pang's house who has never been found has been traced recently, but he seems to be a little stupid. It is probably because of the incident that happened back then that his mind was damaged. In your opinion, how should this person be dealt with?"
The woman never saluted, and her words were plain, especially the word "adult", which was the most deserted.
The man who was almost sixty years old smiled when he heard this. By chance, the old man from the porridge shop had already brought out two bowls of porridge and several dishes of side dishes. He took the porridge and put it on the table in front of him. He almost jumped because of the heat. It took a while before he spoke. He replied, "It's nothing more than eradicating the roots and killing them all. In recent years, you should be more familiar with this kind of thing than me."
"The incident in General Pang's Mansion happened at the right time. It happened to be that Old Long was ill, so he handed over all the matters to Qice Mansion, so not many mistakes were made. After many years, the saint's memory and mental strength are not as good as before. Until now, I haven’t asked much about it, but paper is still paper, and fire is still fire. If you can’t suppress it, why not do it more cleanly.”
"Your Excellency, you are always clean in your work, leaving no loopholes and no excuses. It is no wonder that over the years, you have been living by your side, but you have always been able to take care of yourself. It has never changed." The woman in red held up the porridge in front of her, blew a few mouthfuls, and laughed for no reason. "A high-ranking official without an heir, sitting firmly in this court, no matter how much power he holds in his hands, is quite reassuring. I just don't know, when you entered the official career, did you already guess that you would be able to sit there? Is this a position above one person?"
The sixty-year-old man, who looked extremely ordinary, ignored it and hurriedly took a sip of the porridge. The shallow wrinkles on his face were stretched out. He seemed to be very pleased with this mouthful, and then he raised his head to look at the woman sitting opposite him.
"Since you are in this position, don't think too much. How can an old farmer who works hard in the fields worry about whether his grain is used for cooking or porridge? If you ask others to listen, you will inevitably become suspicious, even if you want to , don’t speak either.”
The woman's face became colder and colder, and she stared at the person in front of her.
"Your mother had such an expression at the beginning, but in the end, having no shortage of money and having a good death was a blessing that could not be achieved in such a big court for several generations. Now you also have such an expression, which is quite amazing. It’s heartbreaking.”
The man in his 60s still drank porridge, his behavior was quite vulgar, as if he were a poor man. He turned the edge of the bowl and picked up the cooled porridge. He made a loud hissing sound, without the slightest attitude of a court official, in the sound of the cold spring rain. In the middle, it is particularly prickly.
Finally, the man finished drinking most of the porridge and wiped the rice porridge from the corner of his mouth with satisfaction. However, he took out two Huailang fruits from his arms, put them in his mouth and chewed them. He took the time to speak, "It's rare to see us. Since we don't want to be contaminated with the sin of killing, , that boy from the Pang family is yours to deal with, whether to kill or release, it all depends on your will, but I still have to remind you that the ashes burned into charcoal-like ashes in the third hour of the day may not be completely extinguished until the second watch, and will burn if touched. It’s not just an idiot’s dream, if we can’t extinguish the roots, there may be more disasters in the end.”
After that, the man no longer stayed, but pinched out a few copper coins, put them on the table bank, put on his raincoat again, and walked away step by step, but he headed straight for the canal outside Tongzi Street. When he was about to leave the street, he He took off his coir raincoat, stepped onto the sedan chair that was waiting for a cup of tea, took off his outer clothes, and revealed the official robe of a civil servant.
And these actions all fall in the eyes of women.
While he was out inspecting the canal, Yi Zhang, now the prime minister, sat in this deserted porridge shop for a cup of tea. In the end, he used Huailang fruit to get rid of the taste of porridge and vegetables in his mouth, put on official robes, and excepted those who carried the sedan chair. Outside of others, no one knew that this powerful official had once visited Tongzi Street and had a bowl of clear porridge.
It is even more important to be cautious than when walking on thin ice.
Whether it was pitiful or hateful, the woman never thought clearly. After the man left, the woman in red lowered her head, but found that there were still several plates of cold dishes in front of her, so she suddenly pulled out the long knife from her waist, and the sound of gold and iron resounded.
But the old man in the shop was completely unaware.
The woman also left some copper coins, got up and left, without holding an umbrella, but walked straight into the rain. The spring rain was so continuous that within a few steps, her clothes were soaked all over, but the woman still did not hold an umbrella, so she So move forward step by step.
In the tavern outside Lingzi Building, there were no guests today again. After all, Pang Qingfeng took advantage of the shopkeeper's nap to scrape a lot of black ash from the bottom of the pot. Regardless of the heavy spring rain, he ran out and let the rainwater mix into the pot. In the ashes, he smiled stupidly.
No matter how urgent the spring rain is, if I chop some more bamboo tomorrow, I can probably draw that pretty girl. Of course, I have to feel comfortable. Even the matter of being fined a lot of money the day before yesterday will be enough to be forgotten. .
The middle-aged man in the tavern became nervous when he saw the young man enjoying himself. He shouted a few words and grinned, showing half of his front teeth.
An entire lake fell into Huixi City.
Some people are upset because of big and small things, and want to quench their anger with the spring rain. Others are happy because they can find rootless water mixed with ashes to paint. Some even brave the spring rain to transport their swords, and the scars on the tips of their fists have scabbed and re-cured. scab.
Life is still alive in the rain, some are happy and some are sad.
