When Chu Taifu first read this letter from Wang Changshi, it was quite pleasing to the eye, but as he read it, things changed.
Mrs. Chu's gray eyebrows furrowed more and more tightly - he praised his students when he praised him, so why did he always focus on Qiao Yang?
This is the student he taught, what does it have to do with that bad fishing guy!
The more Mrs. Chu read, the more annoyed he became. The sourness in his heart was overwhelming. He glanced at three lines. At the end of the letter, he finally mentioned him. Oh, but it was mentioned like this [If there is a chance, Mr. Lao will ask Qiao Jijiu on behalf of his students]
!
"Annoying!"
Taifu Chu expressed his mood at this moment in the simplest words.
He wanted to burn the annoying letter, but when he raised it above the candle, he took it back - burning the letter should not be too urgent, otherwise it would be bad if the room was set on fire.
The old lady, who now cherished her life very much, picked up the scissors that she had just used to cut out the picture of a little man kowtowing, and cut the letter paper into pieces with dissatisfaction.
The old servant who had just returned saw the pile of shredded paper in front of his old master and asked in surprise: "...all of them must be framed?"
The old lady snorted: "Why mount it! Take it and burn it!"
Faced with such huge emotional ups and downs, the old servant was used to it. When he stepped forward to put away the pieces of paper, he heard his old master smile "Hey" without any warning.
Taifu Chu leaned back in his chair, his anger suddenly subsided by seven points, and he said magnanimously: "He who doesn't know is not wrong..."
Although he is regarded as someone else's student, he is the best student, and this is obvious to all.
On a summer night, with the window half-open, there was a hint of coolness coming from the window. The Taifu turned to look outside the window lattice and saw that the lantern hanging under the corner of the corridor was dim. He immediately said: "Why is the lantern not on? Quickly let it go."
People order…”
The old servant quickly led someone to light the lamp.
It was a rabbit lantern, which was incompatible with this elegant and simple courtyard, but the old master cherished it very much. Since it was hung up on the Lantern Festival night, no one has ever taken it off.
It's just that the old master has been staying in the Ministry of Rites recently, so the rabbit lamp and the servants who light it have also been passive and slack in their work.
Through the window, the old lady saw the lamp being relit, emitting gentle candlelight, and then she felt safe and satisfied.
He will keep this light until his students come back. Where there is a light, there is hope, just like in the past.
The green rabbit lantern swayed gently in the wind, and the light also swayed, like a naughty child holding a green lotus leaf in the water, slapping it and washing it, swinging it, causing layers of waves on the water surface, and the night was also
Like the water surface, the light of this little rabbit lantern slowly swayed away until the first ray of skylight came.
The secret letter of petition sent by Eunuch Pan's envoy in Jiangdu soon arrived in the capital and was presented to the emperor.
On the night of the next day, Yao Yi returned from Dali Temple. After changing out of his official uniform, he went to his mother's place to pay her respects.
The residence of the old lady of the Yao family was very lively at the moment. The couple from the second room and the brother and sister Yao Xia were all talking to the old lady.
The servants were all standing outside, except for a nanny who was holding a big cattail leaf fan for the old lady. Listening to her granddaughter's request, the old lady smiled and sighed, shaking her head: "Axia, why don't you ask your mother first if she agrees?"
…”
After Chang Suining took over the post of governor of Jiangdu, Yao Xia couldn't stay at home anymore, and every now and then he wanted to go to Yangzhou to find his cousin.
Today, when Yao Ran sent home a letter from his family, he could no longer suppress his feelings, and he brought up the matter again.
After bowing to Yao Yifu who walked in, Yao Xia walked to his mother, Zeng, and shook her mother's hand: "Mom, just let me go..."
Mrs. Zeng patted her daughter's hand: "Axia, you have to know that life in Jiangdu is not that easy now..."
"Auntie, my daughter is not afraid of hardship!"
Mrs. Zeng sighed: "What Aniang means is that life in Jiangdu is already difficult now. How can it be convenient for Chang, the governor, to support you, an idler who only knows how to eat?"
Yao Xia's face turned bitter and she felt unable to refute.
After all, she knows very little and eats a lot.
"Father and mother..." Yao Gui couldn't help but said, "How about my son go to Yangzhou to study?"
He had heard that Governor Chang ordered hundreds of people to copy the family's books in Jiangdu... and the saint had approved Governor Chang's move yesterday!
If he can go to Jiangdu to study, he will have the opportunity to come into contact with those books. Not only can he meet Chang Jishi and Ran Mei, but he may also be able to achieve success in his studies.
Mrs. Yao's joking words broke the young man's whims: "Ah Gui, that's a good idea. It would be easier to take your uncle's head with you. It would save someone from having to chop it off in the future...
"
"Stop making trouble, no one is allowed to go." The second master of the Yao family rarely said in a serious tone: "This Chang Governor's flamboyant behavior must have attracted the suspicion of the saints. And our Yao family is different from other families. Your uncle is in court.
There have been some rumors between the official and the governor Chang... If we send you all the way to Jiangdu, once people know about it, it will be really hard to explain."
Yao Gui and Yao Xia looked at each other after hearing this, vaguely aware of the stakes involved, and for a moment they were as silent as chickens.
Yao Yi sat down and sighed: "With those two outside, I already have enough headaches. You two just stay at home."
"Those two"?
Which two?
Everyone in the Yao family reacted for a moment, and almost all of them were stunned the next moment.
Yao Xia looked at his uncle, and he counted not only his cousins, but also Sister Chang... His uncle's desire to be the father-in-law of his wife has not yet died.
The second master of the Yao family was very worried about this. He was just thinking about breaking off the relationship with the scary Governor Chang, but the eldest brother was lucky enough to get him back immediately.
Why is the eldest brother so obsessed with wanting to be a wild father?
Facing the complicated looks of his family members, Yao Yi realized that he had made a mistake and said as seriously as possible: "In any case, we are not allowed to go anymore."
The remaining two lambs must be watched closely no matter what. They are in the pen and are not allowed to go anywhere.
Mrs. Yao took out Yao Ran's family letter and asked her grandma to give it to Yao Yi.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! After reading it, Yao Yi looked at the powerful handwriting on it and couldn't help but sigh: "Ran'er has changed a lot..."
This change is from the inside out, and can be seen in the wording and handwriting of the letter.
Yao Yi also often received individual letters from his daughter. From that letter, he seemed to be able to see that a weak and injured bird that was originally imprisoned in a cage gradually lost its injured feathers and stretched its bones.
, new flesh and blood grew, and the wings gradually became plump.
In his recent letters, Yao Yi can feel that this bird has the vision and determination to see farther away. It wants to fly higher, and even has a strong ambition.
Yao Yi was shocked, mixed with relief, and more uneasy as a parent.
At the same time, he also knew clearly that his daughter's ambitious mentor must be the other leading lamb that made him most fearful.
The lamb never wrote to him, but only "conversed" with him once in Ran'er's letter, letting Ran'er greet him on his behalf.
Yao Yi has been paying close attention to Jiangdu's movements, watching Chang Sui Ning's every move in Jiangdu.
She boldly wanted to be the governor of Jiangdu, and now she copied the family's collection of books first and then later... Yes, all the saints approved it, even against all opinions, but the approval did not mean approval, it was just forced by the times.
The Bureau’s “have to”.
These suspicions and dissatisfactions will accumulate in invisible places. When the crisis that created this "have to" disappears, she will be in crisis...
Everything she did in Jiangdu gradually pointed to the most taboo word for local officials - centralization of power.
She first selected and recruited talents on her own, thereby avoiding the decentralization and constraints of the court's eyes and ears; she also managed to get wealthy businessmen to donate money and prominent families to donate books. This not only stabilized the situation in Jiangdu, but also took advantage of the situation to cooperate with these "landowners" of Jiangdu.
They were tied together, forcing each other to be used by her.
Now, Jiangdu's collection of books has been left behind in this way. Although the collection of books originally belonged to Jiangdu, they used to be scattered among the families of various major families, but now, they are all concentrated in her hands...
When it comes to the number of books in her collection, she is naturally far inferior to the imperial library, especially after the imperial court confiscated the Central Plains collection of books——
However, the imperial court has strict restrictions on the use of the collection of books. To truly distribute them to scholars all over the world is an overly clear and ideal slogan. To realize it, it will take a long process.
But the collection of books in her hands is different. It is the most intuitive and most promising library for scholars in the world.
The only owner of this library is Chang Sui Ning.
These collections of books are sacred objects in the eyes of countless literati, and she will be the only distributor.
Military power, finance, and book collection are now all in her hands. In a short period of time, she has become the absolute master of Jiangdu.
Her movements were quick and she could always hit the vital point time and time again. Not to mention those officials who could only criticize her with a few words in the court, even he, who had already predicted it in his heart, could not react for a moment.
He even felt that...she was too skilled in these methods of centralizing power!
But who taught her these methods?
Recently, Yao Yi often sits up suddenly late at night when he is tossing and turning, frowning and thinking about this matter.
Based on his intuitive judgment, he suspected that there was a capable person behind Chang Suining secretly instigating...
But Yao Ran's letters frequently showed that everything was Chang Suining's own idea. Even her officials and retainers often felt frightened and confused because of her bold and unexpected moves...
But Yao Yi still firmly believed that there must be a hidden person behind Chang Suining, but he was hiding in the dark and never showed up... Otherwise, everything that happened to her could not be explained by common sense.
As the minister of Dali Temple, he is more perceptive than ordinary people, and when he was secretly searching for someone before, he also knew in detail Chang Suining's experience from childhood to adulthood... He was so locked in a boudoir that he could not communicate with outsiders.
With all her experiences, how could she have created the Jiangdu governor who is well versed in power and tactics on her own?
It's not the assistant officers and retainers around her, nor is it Chang Kuo's style... Then who is secretly guiding her?
Yao Yi was not sure what the thoughts of "that person" who very likely existed, and secretly decided that he must find "that person".
After returning to the hospital, he wrote a letter to Chang Suining and Yao Ran each. The letter to Chang Suining was intended to test and remind; the letter to Yao Ran repeatedly told his daughter to pay more attention.
If you find any clues about this matter, write to him immediately.
…
The next day, when Xiao Min led his triumphant army into the city, the people in the capital lined the streets to greet him.
The next day, Li Xian left Beijing with 50,000 troops and went to support Dongting to attack and kill the rebel army led by Daozhou rebel Bian Chunliang.
When Li Xian rode out of the city, he could still see the remaining flowers on both sides of the official road. They were left by the people who came to greet Xiao Min when he entered the city yesterday.
But today, when he set off for the expedition, there was no lively scene like yesterday, and there were no officials to see him off. His aunt only said that the military situation was like a fire and ordered him to march quickly... At this moment, everyone should be celebrating the triumphant army in the morning.
Discuss merit and reward Xiao Min and his party.
Li Xian tightened his grip on the reins, rode his horse over the remaining flowers, and galloped away.
This time, he will definitely carry Bian Chunliang's head back to the capital——
He wants to prove to his aunt and everyone that Li Xian, the Korean prince, is the one who can really help Dasheng save the crisis!
As for Cui Jing, who has been in glory for too long, and Chang Kuo, his father and his daughter, who are now fighting against Japanese pirates and have no fear, they will definitely end up like the mud crushed under his feet at this moment!
The army is marching forward, but not everyone has the same determination and confidence as Li Xian.
The soldiers under Bian Chunliang were even more brutal than Xu Zhengye. If Xu Zhengye had previously colluded with the aristocratic family, most of the injuries he suffered were ordinary people, and under the banner of restoring the Li family, he still had some respect for himself.
——
So, in comparison, Bian Chunliang's army, who was born as a salt dealer and openly raised the flag of rebellion, was very "equal" and saw no distinction between rich and poor. Wherever he passed, even the rich and powerful families were robbed and massacred by him.
They are completely exhausted. Their methods are barbaric and cruel, and they are extremely humiliating to the children of the gentry. They are completely inhumane.
Moreover, due to repeated victories in battles, the imperial army was greatly defeated, and the momentum was overwhelming along the way. The name of killing gradually became more powerful, and it has vaguely formed a deterrent that "even before the battle is started, it will make people feel panic".
At this moment, most of the 50,000 troops following Li Xian were worried, wondering what the outcome of this Dongting battle would be.
At this moment, most of the people in the city are talking about the grand occasion when Xiao Min's army entered the city yesterday. For the people in the capital, this triumphant army is inseparable from General Ningyuan. Although General Ningyuan was unable to return to the capital together because of his fight against the Japanese pirates,
, but seeing this large army is like seeing General Ningyuan.
Speaking of General Ningyuan, recently they have always heard something like "He ordered hundreds of people to copy the books in Jiangdu". However, ordinary illiterate people do not realize the true significance of this topic, so most of them have only a half-understanding and do not know much about it.
Keen to discuss this matter.
But it's different for scholars. This incident caused quite a stir among scholars.
In the past two days, this topic has appeared frequently in Dengtai Tower, and there has been an endless stream of literati who came to see the "Tiger Walking in the Mountains and Forests" from morning to night.
When Meng Lie looked at it, he felt that the tiger picture seemed to have become a real landscape.
I remember that Chang Kuo used this to cheat him out of four thousand taels of drink money, and also took away a jade pendant from him. At that time, he wanted to curse, but looking at it now...it was not a loss at all?
And he heard that in Jiangdu, the Chang family girl could get ten thousand taels of silver from a wealthy businessman with just four words... If he calculated it this way, not only did he not lose money, but he actually made a profit?
In the early morning of that day, before the Dentai Building opened its doors to welcome guests, Meng Lie went up to the second floor alone and quietly looked at the picture of the tiger that had made him so rich.
I still remember that night, Taifu Chu meant that this painting had the "style of Her Royal Highness Princess Chongyue"...
But he was a businessman with little knowledge in calligraphy and painting, so he couldn't see any mystery.
Does this painting really resemble the style of His Highness?
In other words... the real question deep in his heart was not about this painting.
What he really wants to ask is, why does the path that the girl is walking on now and everything she reveals while walking on this road give him a feeling of being so similar to His Highness?
He tried to get an answer from Wujue, but Wujue didn't know whether he was unwilling to give it or unable to give it, which always gave him a perfunctory and evasive feeling.
And when he thought of Wu Jue's deteriorating health, even the famous doctors he invited were helpless, Meng Lie couldn't help but frown.
The street outside the building is already very lively, but Dengtai Building does not do morning tea business, so there is no rush to open the door. The waiters inside the building are still wiping the tables and chairs in a leisurely manner.
Meng Lie came down from the second floor and went to the backyard as usual, only to see a servant coming in a hurry.
This servant was clearly a domestic servant, but in fact he was a confidant who had been with Meng Lie since his early years. Like Meng Lie, he was an old and well-informed person in Deng Tai Tower.
Seeing the strange look on the servant's face at this moment, Meng Lie had a bad premonition in his heart.
"My boss, it's not good..." The servant hurriedly came forward, and before he could salute, he lowered his voice and said: "Over there at Dayun Temple... something happened to Master Wujue!"
Meng Lie's eyes were shocked and he immediately said: "Prepare the car!"
…
At the same moment, Qiao Yang, who had finally waited until the break and wanted to take a nap, was woken up by the servants, saying that Taifu Chu was here.
Qiao Yang complained endlessly in her heart, but she had to get up. When she was getting dressed, the slightly cool wind in the early morning blew in, causing him to sneeze several times in succession.
After hurriedly washing up, Qiao Yang went outside to meet the guests. She smiled and apologized to Taifu Chu: "...I don't know that Taifu, you came today and didn't get up to greet me. I kept you waiting for a long time."
"Okay, let's go." Mr. Chu, with his servants carrying fishing rods and baskets, stood up from his chair and said coolly.
"Fishing so early..." Qiao Yang hurriedly followed: "The fish haven't woken up yet."
Mrs. Chu said angrily: "Let's go or not."
"Go, of course..." Qiao Yang smiled kindly: "You finally came here, how could I not accompany you?"
Mrs. Chu hummed and walked forward. Qiao Yang was keenly aware that this old man seemed to be coming with emotions.
Therefore, I tested him with words on the way.
He actually asked him, but the old lady said in an unclear tone: "There's nothing we can do, we've been robbed."
"Thief?" Qiao Yang asked quickly, "What did you throw away? Has the thief been caught?"