After the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The weather in Youjing City lost its gentle temper and became gloomy and violent.
There were three heavy rains in three days, each with thunder and lightning and each one terrifying Kyoto.
The so-called thunder in autumn means thieves are everywhere.
The people living in Youjing have rarely seen such weather, but their ancestors have come from the farmland, and they firmly believe that autumn rain accompanied by thunder is definitely not a good sign.
It does not mean that any disaster is coming, but it at least means that rain, snow, floods and droughts are likely to occur frequently in the coming year, and the harvest will drop sharply, resulting in a large number of robberies.
Sure enough, on the fourth day after the Mid-Autumn Festival, in the northern part of Zhongzhou, starting from Tahe Chengguan in Xing'an in the east and ending at Ulanbat City in Mongolia in the west, a line of beacon fire stretched for three thousand miles. The Wala people sounded the clarion call for a full-scale invasion of Zhongzhou!
The smoke of gunpowder crossed the mountains and shrouded the hearts of the people in Kyoto.
Although the last large-scale invasion by foreign barbarians failed to reach Youjing City, for the people who have lived in peace for nearly twenty years and have just celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival, the war drums from the north seem to be beating on their chests, and they are so anxious. It makes people breathless.
Until then, there were rumors that the Mid-Autumn Festival Night Banquet, which had been suspended for two years, had resumed a few days ago.
Sounds as soft as mosquitoes and buzzing began to appear in the streets and alleys.
It's probably either that he's stupid or stupid, or that he's been punished by God...
If it weren't for the subsequent news that General Fengguo went to the front line to command the resistance against the enemy that night, the people of Youjing would have been unable to sleep all night.
…
…
The depressive atmosphere in Youjing City did not last long.
In other words, it was only a short day.
It's not that people's memories are as short as fish's, but worrying too much won't help.
When the sky falls, there will always be someone high to hold it up. As long as the flames of war have not reached the doorstep, life can go on as usual.
Only people who often walk around the imperial city will find that there are more carriages and horses going in and out of the palace these days, and it is very fast, coming and going even faster. It is really like the "hundreds of thousands of urgent things" mentioned in the play.
But as long as the important matters of family and country have not reached the point of recruiting young men, it is not their turn to worry about them.
After seeing too many cars coming and going, everyone began to get used to it.
Many times people are so simple and plain.
In comparison, affairs in the court are often very complicated, as changeable and treacherous as the weather.
But sometimes the sky is clear and it is very simple and clear.
As long as there is only one voice in the court.
In fact, in the past ten years or so, the voices in the court have not been numerous or complex.
Especially after Emperor Jing passed away and Emperor Yan succeeded to the throne, the number of voices in the court never exceeded the number of one hand.
Although the cabinet is still responsible for reviewing the national memorials, drafting opinions, and then submitting them to the emperor for approval through the Supervisor of Ceremonies, Emperor Yan approved all minor matters and made other plans for major matters. For this reason, the cabinet made its own decision early. "Dumb point" no longer brings shame upon oneself.
The Nine Families never speak alone. Every time they go to court, the Nine Families must have finished forming gangs and factions in private. There will only be three voices at most in the court. This is a rule.
In recent years, the loudest voices in the court were either the eunuchs with a shrill voice or the wudang with a rough voice.
It's just that these days, it is said that a few of those rough men with deep voices are sick inexplicably and are unable to get up from their beds. Some of them followed General Fengguo's footsteps and rushed north to direct the war against the enemy. Only two of them were left standing in the hall with their mouths tight. Silent.
With the nine families tacitly choosing to be silent, some people quietly watching, and most people remaining silent, the Jinluan Palace was extremely quiet.
Of course, only one voice could be heard in the court room.
The young emperor Zhu Yan unfortunately caught wind and cold after entertaining his ministers at a banquet on the Mid-Autumn Festival night. Although he was not seriously ill, his voice was really hoarse and no one could hear the words clearly unless he put them close to his mouth.
Yu Tian, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, put his head very close to Emperor Yan's mouth.
All matters in the court were due to the father-in-law's speech and decree on behalf of the Holy Father.
…
…
night.
A dark starless night.
This was the last time that Yu Tianyu's father-in-law returned to his private residence from the palace in so many years.
There was silence in the private house.
During the day, the court hall was even more eerily quiet than at this time.
But he enjoyed that feeling.
But in order to enjoy that feeling, he had to spend a lot of time and thought on the decoration.
He knows very well that everything has its corresponding chips and prices.
So when he saw the parchment handed over by the butler, which was printed with eighty-one patterns of monks and Sanskrit, he knew that someone was coming to ask for chips or price from him.
Yu Tian said: "Is this the seal of 'zhe'?"
The housekeeper knew that his master was asking if he had confirmed the authenticity. However, no one in the house knew what the golden seal with the character "Zhe" actually looked like, so he could not tell whether the seal, which was deliberately made to be too confusing, was indeed authentic. With the word "zhe" printed on it, I could only bite the bullet and answer: "I don't know."
Yu Tian calmed down after hearing this, and said calmly: "That's right, unless we arrest those old monks from Shaolin, no one will be able to recognize him."
The butler lowered his head and tied his hands, nervously waiting for the next question.
Yu Tian said: "Who sent it?"
The steward said: "The leader of the Tushita Gang, Smiling Maitreya, and his subordinates, Shadow Buddha."
Yu Tian took the roll of parchment into his eyes again and looked at it carefully, then put it down again and said, "I think it was Lao Sun who folded it in his hand. That makes sense. What did they ask for?"
The steward said: "Smiling Maitreya wants to see the master alone, and then he personally presents the golden seal with the word 'zhe' to him."
"Alone and offered?" Yu Tian repeated the two key words and asked with a meaningful smile, "Do you think he really means it, or does he have another conspiracy?"
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The steward said: "In my humble opinion, you should be more careful. First set up an ambush to eliminate it, and then find the whereabouts of the golden seal. Anyway, the entire Youjing City is under my control."
Yu Tian nodded and said: "That's right, be careful with the Wannian Ship. It seems that you have found out where they are staying in Beijing?"
The butler said: "Just get drunk among the flowers."
"Drunk among the flowers?"
"yes."
The housekeeper didn't raise his head and didn't see his master's brows frowning, but he could hear a rare mood swing in him.
"How brave, asking them to meet in the palace!"
"yes!"
…
…
It was the fifth day after the Mid-Autumn Festival when Jiang Yichen and Leng Mei arrived in Youjing City.
The two of them disguised themselves as a young couple who came to Youjing to sell perfume sachets and powder, carrying large luggage, and walked on Zhuque Avenue in the southern city of Youjing.
It was just after noon, the two of them had just finished eating beef noodles and were about to get familiar with the environment of Youjing City.
Jiang Yichen burped and said, "This is my first time in Beijing."
Leng Mei said: "How do you feel?"
Jiang Yichen said: "The shops in Beijing are all very big, but the food portions they sell are much smaller, and the things they sell are not bigger."
Leng Mei said: "How much smaller is the bowl of beef noodles just now compared to Mindi?"
Jiang Yichen affirmed: "At least one or two pieces of meat are missing."
Leng Mei said: "What about the price?"
Jiang Yichen said angrily: "It's more than doubled."
Leng Mei asked again: "How does the portion and price compare to that in Gusu City?"
Jiang Yichen compared them carefully in his mind before saying, "It's not far off."
Leng Mei said: "Yes, there are more people in Youjing City than Gusu City, and several times more than the population of the entire Fujian Province. Although the pie is big, there are more people to share, and naturally every small piece They have become extremely valuable, so it is said that living in Youjing is not easy!"
"I understand all these principles. Businessmen also rely on these price differences to make money."
"Fortunately, we brought a lot of money, so we don't have to worry about not being able to afford it. If we throw away these sachet powders, we can have a big meal!"
"Fortunately, I'm not a particularly good eater, so I can save some flowers."
"Is your impression of this great capital only based on the amount of money spent?"
"And..." Jiang Yichen lowered his voice, and Leng Mei naturally leaned over and put his ear close, "There are so many poor and rotten people in the capital. When I heard that there was another war in the north, it was not about drinking to get drunk. , it’s just dragging out poems and making lyrics, which is extremely ugly to watch and extremely ugly to listen to.”
Leng Mei laughed so hard that her branches trembled, but she did not forget to argue for the literati: "Hey, otherwise, what do you think they should do?"
Jiang Yichen said: "It's time to eat, it's time to drink, and it's time to sleep."
After hearing this, Leng Mei rolled her eyes, arched her arms into Jiang Yichen's arms, and said with a wicked smile, "Then should we sleep?"
In just over ten days, the two of them traveled almost half of Zhongzhou. If Jiang Yichen had gone on the road alone, the speed would naturally be faster, but it is conceivable that he would be very tired.
Fortunately, Leng Mei was traveling with them this time, and the itinerary was arranged more reasonably and properly. They also had a good rest on the road, so the two of them stayed in good condition most of the time and were ready for high-intensity battles at any time.
Upon hearing what Leng Mei said, Jiang Yichen knew that the other party was acting naughty again, but he also knew that he should find a place to settle down first, so he replied happily: "Okay!"
Leng Mei didn't expect that her little Jiang was not shy this time and answered so quickly. She didn't know which inn to stay at, so she asked casually: "Where to sleep?"
Unexpectedly, Jiang Yichen quickly replied: "Drunken among the flowers."
"What?!" Leng Mei thought she heard wrongly and asked hurriedly, "Where are you going to sleep?"
Jiang Yichen said slowly and eloquently, "Hua-jian-drunk."
