Chen Cuo's eyes glanced back and forth between Ai Ju and the steward Chen Hai, and his heart grew cold.
Of these two people, one was in charge of the maids and the other was in charge of the servants. Everything in the house was sorted out by them, and everything was always in order. I felt comfortable for a while, thinking that the life of a feudal landlord was really free.
Now I suddenly woke up!
He suddenly realized that in the old lady's mind, sons might be divided into three levels, and his second son might be regarded as an accessory and tool of the eldest son!
"Junhou! You should leave quickly!"
Seeing that Chen Cuo was silent, Chen Hai urged him again.
Aster also helped: "Yes, don't waste time, please leave as soon as possible."
Not only them, but also the maids and servants in the room were all staring at Chen Cuo, urging him to leave quickly.
Instantly, Chen Cuo felt a heavy pressure on his body, and his hands and feet were cold.
Over the past month, the sense of belonging he had managed to develop was completely exhausted in an instant, and he felt that he was incompatible with this place and this era.
Although there were many people around him, Chen Cuo seemed to be standing alone in the ice and snow.
He clenched his fists and remembered the scene in front of him firmly in his heart. Then he took a deep breath and stood up, with a dull expression on his face.
Chen Hai immediately turned around and gave instructions.
"Prepare the car!"
——————
Jiankang, the capital of the Southern Dynasties, was not laid out according to the north-south central axis when it was built. Instead, it was built along the mountains and rivers, taking advantage of the natural flow of heaven. However, the imperial palace was still the core of the city.
The imperial city of Nanchen is located in the north of Jiankang City, surrounded by water on all sides. To the south is the world-famous Qinhuai River, to the east is Qingxi, to the north is Chaogou, and to the west is Yundu. On both sides of Qingxi and Chaogou are the princes, nobles, ministers and important officials.
The residence is located.
Chen Cuo's Linru County Marquis Mansion was also among them. It was located on the east bank of Qingxi River, close to Dongli Gate, and close to the edge of Jiankang City. He rode an ox cart and walked along the streets. He observed repeatedly that most of the surrounding houses were low, and the houses to the east were low.
The city walls are not made of bricks and stones, most of them are piled with rammed earth. No matter how you look at them, they have a strong sense of history, so Chen Cuo felt a little at ease.
"This is still the capital of the Southern Dynasties. The walls are not made of bricks and stones, and they are not more than ten feet high. It cannot be a world of high martial arts." Chen Cuo tried his best to calm down and not think about what happened just now. He tried to divert his attention.
Thinking about Zhou Youzi's theories about gods and ghosts.
But as I thought about it, I couldn't help but touch on the situation just now.
"I was worried that the close relationship between the two parties would reveal flaws, but now I realize that Chen Fangqing is not taken seriously and is a subordinate of his eldest brother. Is it a blessing in disguise?" Chen Cuo laughed at himself, enjoying the misery.
Soon, the ox cart drove into the alley and saw the Prince of Nankang's Mansion in the distance.
Chen Cuo learned from the memory fragments that the former King of Nankang, Chen Fangqing's father, Chen Tanlang, was very popular with the great ancestor Chen Baxian. Chen Cuo had some doubts about this. After all, Chen Tanlang was eventually sent to the north as a hostage, but at least on the surface
, the two emperors were really interesting to the Nankang kings——
This can be seen from the location of Nankang Palace.
The palace is located on the west bank of Qingxi River, almost close to the imperial city in the west, and Dongfu City - the residence of the prime minister - can be seen in the east.
The area around the palace is prosperous and clean, much better than Chen Cuonahou's mansion.
Unfortunately, he didn't have any sense of belonging, he only felt depressed and had a dark foreboding.
Sure enough, as soon as he entered the house, he was greeted by the words——
"Your Majesty, you have caused trouble."
The person speaking was the steward of the palace, and his appearance was somewhat similar to Chen Hai.
This man's name is Chen He, and he is the elder brother of Chen Hai. Both of them have children in the same family.
"What do you mean?" Chen Cuo asked coldly, "I didn't even bother to eat breakfast, so I rushed here in a hurry, and it's a disaster?"
Chen He said: "Your Majesty, please don't be angry. We are acting under orders. You must know..."
"Okay, please explain clearly." Chen Cuo waved his hand, not bothering to listen to the explanation.
Chen He was stunned for a moment, but his expression remained unchanged, and he said directly: "Mr. Zhou has just arrived. Because the monarch has not arrived, the mistress has to apologize, saying that you were slightly ill and could not greet you in time." He lowered his voice
The voice said, "You know the temper of the mistress. She is already angry and will definitely punish you afterwards!"
Chen Cuo took a deep breath and suppressed his anger.
As the saying goes, if a person sits at home, disaster will come from heaven.
"That's the case, then I won't go." He flicked his sleeves and turned to leave. In his heart, he no longer had a good impression of the Nankang County Prince's Mansion, as well as Chen Fangqing's mother, who was only in his memory.
"Your Majesty, don't be ridiculous!" Chen He's expression changed on the spot, "Please don't embarrass us! Besides, now that you have gone back, if word spreads, others will say that you are unfilial. No matter how ambitious you are, it will be difficult to recommend you.
"
Chen Cuo took a deep look at the other party and got more information from the memory fragments.
His predecessor, Chen Fangqing, obviously had little say in the family, and Nan Chen did not have the imperial examination. If he wanted to avoid being humiliated, he had to be able to stand up, but the way forward was still in the palace. It was really not good until he found a backup plan.
Fall out.
It just made him feel even more disgusted, but for now he could only suppress his disgust and said, "What do you think I should do?"
Chen He said: "Since the mistress said that you are slightly ill, you have to wait for a while. Furthermore, please move to the backyard and wait for the old lady to call you."
Chen Cuo took a long breath, took a deep look at Chen He, and stepped into the house.
"You have to climb up as soon as possible! Otherwise, even the servants will be polite on the surface, but in fact they don't take me seriously. How much anger will I have to suffer in the future? My life will be shortened!"
With many worries on his mind, Chen Cuo went to the backyard garden, where many servants vaguely surrounded him. Seeing this scene, he couldn't help but sigh.
"Why are you sighing, second brother?"
At this time, a childish voice came.
Chen Cuo looked around and saw a little girl wearing a skirt, about ten years old, holding a book and looking pretty.
As the memory fragments turned around, Chen Cuo recognized that this was Chen Jiao, the third sister, and the daughter Chen Tanlang left behind before he went north to be held hostage.
In my memory, Chen Fangqing's relationship with this sister was quite harmonious. When he saw her, he had to say hello twice, but he didn't dare to talk too much, lest he accidentally exposed his feet.
Little did he know that this appearance made Chen Jiao misunderstand.
"I know why you are sad," Xiao Chenjiao jumped up and handed over the book in her hand, "Read the book first, so you can feel at ease."
"What is this?" Chen Cuo took it and took a look and saw the words "Qingzhai Notes" written on the cover.
"The Great Talent Lu You's "Qingzhai Notes"! You don't know about it, right? He lives in seclusion in Dongshan, cultivating Taoism, and often writes poems and insights. His servants compile them and they will soon be spread throughout Jiankang!" Chen
Stars almost appeared in the delicate black and white eyes, "I heard that Lu Caizi is rich and handsome. He is not only knowledgeable about heaven and man, but also has magical powers."
Seeing his sister's star-struck look on her face, Chen Cuo shook his head, then flipped through the books. At a glance, most of them were poems and some talked about mysteries, but they didn't interest him.
Seeing this, Chen Jiao was a little dissatisfied and said: "Second brother, you are worried about being blamed by your mother, so you are absent-minded. Otherwise, if you look carefully, you will know what Lu Caizi is! His records are the customs of Jiankang City, and I don't know how many aristocratic young masters
I follow my example, but only a handful of them can be praised!" As he spoke, he raised his chest with pride, but his body was thin and he lacked any momentum.
Chen Cuo nodded in agreement and asked casually: "What do you mean, this Lu You is a Taoist priest?"
When Chen Jiao saw him asking, she immediately said: "Caizi Lu has been favored by the Heavenly Master and has been accepted as a close disciple. However, I know that what you really want to ask is about the situation of the Taoist cultivator in the main hall, right?" Her eyes flashed.
Turn, "Forget it, this girl saved you once, you must remember to owe me a favor and help me buy Dong Shouge's rouge a few more times!"
Chen Cuo then became energetic. He thought that he knew how to put on makeup at such a young age, so he asked: "How can you help me?"
Chen Jiao smiled, took out a paper crane from her sleeve, held it in front of her with both hands, blew lightly, and then shouted: "Jiu!"
"You..." Chen Cuo was about to ask, but his eyes widened suddenly and his words stopped abruptly!
At the command, the paper crane trembled slightly, then vibrated its paper wings, jumped twice on Chen Jiao's hand, and finally flew up lightly, hovering above the two of them for a moment, making a "scum" sound.
It's so agile and energetic that it's like a living thing!
Finally, the paper crane paused for a moment on Chen Jiao's fingertips, while Chen Jiao whispered twice.
Chen Cuo stared at the paper crane with his eyes wide open. He watched helplessly as the paper crane left Chen Jiao's finger, suddenly climbed up like a bird, and finally flew into the courtyard wall and disappeared.
"What...what's going on?"
He took a deep breath and felt something was wrong.
Chen Cuo was sure that just now Chen Jiao neither threw the paper crane nor used silk thread to swing it. She just held it in the palm of her hand, blew on it, and uttered a word, and the paper crane flew up on its own, as if it were alive.
Same!
Ancient black technology?
Mohist organ skills?
Questions ran through his mind, and finally he changed his mind.
The person is right in front of you, what are you thinking about? Just ask!