If you look at the map, the shortest way from Chen Muwu's location to his destination is a straight line from south to north.
But the rickshaw driver named Xiangzi did not choose to go that way. Instead, he turned around and entered the inner city through Zhengyang Gate, walked north along the Thousand-Step Corridor, walked to the Forbidden City, and then ran north along the wall of the Inner Imperial City. .
The reason for choosing the far away is that the straight line on the map will pass through a restricted area, which is the infamous Dongjiaomin Alley.
Indian Sikh soldiers with red cloths wrapped around their heads, called "Red-headed Asan" in Haihai dialect, guarded various exits of the embassy area in Dongjiaomin Lane, strictly controlling the entry and exit of Chinese.
In order not to cause more trouble for themselves, the rickshaw drivers simply bypassed this area as a convention.
Chen Muwu didn't know the inside story, and thought Xiangzi wanted to take him to visit the former royal forbidden area up close.
But what if you know? According to his current ability, he could not change this humiliating status quo in a short period of time. He could only complain and make himself more troubled. He might as well admire the royal palace.
Chen Muwu found that the walls of the Forbidden City at this time were not as colorful as he saw later. The red was covered with a layer of gray, and there were signs of dilapidation and collapse in many places.
Ten years after abdicating the throne, it seems that the emperor’s family is not having a good time either!
If nothing else, the degree of talkativeness of Beijing taxi drivers in later generations should be the same as that of today's foreign rickshaw drivers. From the moment he got in the car, Xiangzi began to chatter endlessly with Chen Muwu: "This man..."
"Hey, stop calling me 'this man' and 'this man' all the time. It sounds uncomfortable. It has been ten years since the five races have been a republic. We are all equal. You can just call me husband."
"Okay, sir, the five races are in a republic and everyone is equal. Even so, look at the little emperor of the former Qing Dynasty, doesn't he still live well in this deep palace compound?"
Chen Muwu counted the time and found that Wu Peifu and Cao Kun were now in the spotlight, while Feng Huanzhang was still in the period when he was not using the hidden dragon and did not have the courage to set up a cannon on Jingshan Mountain and shoot at the palace.
It seems that the little emperor can live a peaceful life in the palace for another year or two.
"The Republic of China had the "Regulations on Preferential Treatment for House Clearances", which not only allowed the little emperor to live in the palace, but also allocated a large amount of money to the Ministry of Internal Affairs every year!"
"Sir... sir, you don't know that the government itself has no money due to the wars in the past few years, so how can it still have money to give to the little emperor? In December last year, the little emperor married his wife. I heard that I only gave my mother-in-law a bride price of ten thousand taels of silver. Our family has lived in Sijiu City for generations, and this is the first time I have seen the emperor marry such a shabby wife!"
At this point, Xiangzi suddenly turned around, looked around and saw no one around, and then whispered to Chen Muwu: "I heard that the origin of these ten thousand taels of silver is not an honest one. It was the little emperor who sent someone to secretly The treasures in the palace were taken out of the palace in exchange for money!"
Eh? This is useful information.
Chen Muwu knew that during the hundred years of chaos in the late Qing Dynasty, many national treasures were lost overseas.
In addition to the Anglo-French Allied Forces and the Eight-Nation Allied Forces who suffered a thousand blows, there were many treasures that escaped from the inner courtyard of the Qing Palace, and the grown-up little emperor was undoubtedly the biggest culprit.
Chen Muwu felt that, taking advantage of this opportunity, he could fish in troubled waters for a few national treasures, let them escape the smoke and fire of the troubled times, and wait until the Haiyan River is clear, and then return these national treasures to where they should be?
"Oh? How did you know about this?"
He asked quietly. From Xiangzi's tone, he felt that he knew more about this matter.
"One morning, before dawn, I picked up a foreigner in Dongjiaomin Alley and followed his instructions and ran to a place. Then I saw people going out to welcome him, who seemed to be dressed as father-in-laws. people.
"I didn't think too much about it at first, but then I heard rumors that the emperor had sold many good things in the palace to foreigners in order to get married, and then I connected the two things.
"If you say that this little emperor really doesn't know what is good or bad, he can just buy the things from his ancestors to us Chinese. Why do we have to sell them to foreigners who don't share the same culture and race as us!"
Xiangzi's tone was full of indignation.
"Xiangzi, let me ask you, do you still remember the place where the foreigner took you?"
"What's the matter? Sir, are you also interested in the treasures in the palace?"
"Uh-huh." Chen Muwu snorted noncommittally.
"This is difficult to handle. Firstly, time has passed a long time and I can't remember clearly. Secondly, the little emperor is now married. I don't know if they can still sell it. Why don't you leave me an address? I'll try my luck at Dongjiaomin Lane in the next few days. If anyone goes to that place again, I'll notify you as soon as possible."
"Just go to the place I went to today."
"okay!"
While they were talking, the foreign car Chen Muwu was riding in had already passed the Forbidden City and Jingshan from south to north, and soon arrived at the Dongbanqiao Hutong address he reported to Xiangzi.
"Forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty, sir, this is No. 50, Dongbanqiao. We are here."
"How much?"
"Just give me San Mao."
Chen Muwu took out three small silver coins, and after thinking about it, he took out one more and handed it to Xiangzi: "As soon as you have news, come here and notify me immediately. If I am not here, tell others that Xiangzi is coming. I asked Chen Muwu."
"Okay! Just hold it up!"
…
Chen Muwu got out of the car with his luggage and knocked on the door of this courtyard house.
"Come on, come on!" A woman's voice came from the yard.
Not long after, there was a creaking sound and the door opened.
"Is this Mr. Ma Youyu's home?"
"Yes, that's right, it's right here. Are you Han Chen? Why did you only arrive today? Come in, come in, and give me your luggage!"
"Thank you madam, these are the winter bamboo shoots my eldest brother asked me to bring. A small gift is not respectful!"
"Hey, the relationship between our two families is so polite! Brother You may not have told you that my maiden name is also Chen. From that point of view, we are still distant relatives! What are we called madam? Sister-in-law! Xiao Xun , Xiaojue, come here and call someone."
Two little boys ran out of the house and saw a stranger standing in the yard. One of them shyly hid behind his mother, while the other openly called out "Hello, brother."
After putting his luggage in a guest room that had been packed out for him by the host, the woman just now knocked on the door again and invited him to the front hall for tea.
"Sister-in-law, where is Mr. Ma Youyu?"
"He was called to the school for a meeting early in the morning, saying that he wanted to retain Principal Cai and prevent him from resigning."
"I see," Chen Muwu put down his tea cup, "Then I'll go to Beida and see what's going on there."
Chen Muwu had to worry about whether his trip to Beijing was in vain.
